Can Richard Branson be the new Hugh Hefner? Rumors are flying that the VIrgin Media tycoon is interested in the Playboy empire. The company has been allegedly shopped around for $300 million even though the market value is perceived to less than $100 million. Part of the reason for wide difference in figures is because the company wants to make sure that any deal will help Playboy's 83-year-old founder maintain his lavish lifestyle. Although one of Hugh Hefner's homes is on the market for nearly $28 million there is still main Playboy mansion and its tremendous upkeep to consider. He remains the editor of Playboy magazine and has said he wants to pass down his interest in the company to his teenage sons Marston and Cooper.

While Hefner's lifestyle has burdened the company his public recognition has also been a major part of keeping interest in Playboy Enterprises. The good thing about Branson in charge versus some faceless equity company is that you would have another charismatic man at the helm. Branson also excels at using his lifestyle and his appearances to further his businesses and he also has a wide variety of businesses which could partner with Playboy.

UPDATE: Looks like the Playboy/Virgin empire will forever exist only in our minds.

Forbes has just taken a look at the world's most promising billion-heiresses, introducing us to our new favorite filthy rich twins, Kathrine and Cecilie Fredriksen (above). The 25-year-old blonde daughters of Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen, who's worth $4 billion, each have a seat on the board of directors of their father's companies. Kathrine became a board member of oil trading company Arcadia Petroleum earlier this year.

Cecilie has been on the board of Aktiv Kapital since 2006. The twins, based in London, have worked on various parts of their father's oil and shipping empire for several years. Others featured in Forbes' survey of 25 well-heeled hotties include Marta Ortega Perez, daughter of Spain's richest man - featured in our billion-heiresses post from last year (pictures here), Sir Richard Branson's daughter Holly and of course Ivanka Trump. Click here for a slideshow.

You'd figure that after winning grands prix and driving the fastest cars on the planet, an accomplished F1 driver would have had his fill of extreme Gs and rapid acceleration, but these are speed junkies, and they're always looking for a new adventure. That could be why two seasoned F1 pros are lining up, among the myriad celebrities and billionaires, to experience a low-orbit space flight with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

Sponsoring the winning Brawn GP car at this past weekend's race in Bahrain, Virgin Galactic announced their two latest recruits: Rubens Barrichello and Niki Lauda. Barrichello, who is second in the standings for the F1 world championship this year, has already paid the $200,000 for his ticket on one of Virgin's space flights, which Branson delivered in person at the race. Three-time world champion Niki Lauda, however, is planning to take it even further by undertaking training, at age 60, to pilot the Virgin spacecraft and take other paying tourists up into space. Lauda already owns his own airline and sometimes pilots the flights himself, but even for the driver who's been to hell and back, this should be a new adventure altogether.

Actor Christian Slater was recently given the honor of the inaugural stay at the latest lodge to open at Richard Branson's Ulusaba Private Game Reserve in South Africa. Cliff Lodge is located at Ulusaba's Rock Lodge and has two one-bedroom suites. The larger of the two suites is a one-bedroom with two additional small pull-out beds, an en-suite bathroom, separate kitchen, private dining area, a bar, a spacious lounge, outdoor deck with a braai area and a large swimming pool. It also has a smaller second bedroom/study which can accommodate one adult or two small children. The second suite has a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, lounge area with fireplace and an outdoor deck with Jacuzzi. Access to the Cliff Lodge is via a wooden walkway from the main house of Rock Lodge giving guests who stay in Cliff Lodge added privacy. The two suites in Cliff Lodge can be booked exclusively accommodating a maximum of five adults and four children. Exclusive use includes the use of both suites, a private game drive vehicle and a chef. Rates start at around $1.350 a night for this unique getaway.

Slater's stay wasn't all pleasure, he was there in support of Virgin Unite, the nonprofit foundation of the Virgin Group, to visit a new classroom built at the Jeremiah Creche, which he, Branson and guests of Ulusaba and Leopard Hill's Lodge jointly funded. The creche is supported by Pride 'n Purpose, the charity arm of Ulusaba, and will benefit over 60 disadvantaged children living in the communities adjacent to the reserve. Ulusaba offers a 'Day in the Life' village tour for guests, which looks into some of the charitable projects Ulusaba supports.

French designer Thierry Mugler, known for his fetishistic fashions, is giving the world's fastest yacht a $5 million makeover. The 112-ft. Gentry Eagle (above), designed by racing legend Tom Gentry, earned the World's Fastest title when it broke Virgin tycoon Richard Branson's record for the speediest transatlantic crossing in 1989. In 1992 the Gentry Eagle was rebuilt as a pleasure craft, and is now being revamped once more as a collaboration between British yacht broker Weyves Yachts and Agent de Luxe, a fashion-design agency run by Donald Potard, former president of Jean Paul Gaultier.

When completed by October of next year, the yacht is expected to fetch about $10 million. "Yacht owners are using their vessels as places to entertain, and they want to express their personal style," Potard tells the Robb Report. "Crystal, chandeliers, metals ? the interior will have a distinctly 'Mugler-esque' feel." He says the designer drew inspiration from futuristic films like Barbarella and Star Trek, as those are Tom Gentry's personal favorites.

Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of the Virgin Group, is in talks to acquire London's Gatwick Airport, the second largest and busiest airport in the United Kingdom after Heathrow. Gatwick's owner BAA Ltd., which also owns Heathrow, plans to sell the airport, valued at about $5.4 billion, due to antitrust regulations, Bloomberg reports.

The Virgin Group encompasses several companies including Virgin Atlantic airlines and Virgin Mobile. The adventurous Branson's personal fortune is estimated at $2.8 billion. He plans to form a consortium to bid for the airport, which handled 35 million passengers in 2007.

His partners on the potential deal are said to include Dubai's Royal Family, the London Telegraph reports. Obviously competitors would be worried that Branson and Virgin might gain an unfair advantage by controlling the airport, which is the sixth largest in Europe.

Richard Branson, the charismatic chairman of the Virgin Group of companies, is planning a new eco-friendly resort on Mosquito Island. The island, which is part of the British Virgin Islands, is one of two Branson owns in the Caribbean. His Necker Island is already a private retreat for the wealthy and famous, even hosting the wedding of Google co-founder Larry Page. Mosquito Island is a tiny piece of land off the island of Virgin Gorda and within view of Necker Island. Branson's dream is to plop down 20 villas and a beachfront restaurant powered by wind turbines and solar panels on the uninhabited land. The buildings would capture cool thermal airflows, eliminating the need for air conditioners, an organic orchard would provide food and beach buggies would run on biofuels.

The British Virgin Islands planning department is currently reviewing Branson's design plans for the Mosquito resort. The government response seems positive so far and they are especially impressed by the green angle. Branson is also planning to launch a consulting group, Virgin Green Owls, which will advise governments and corporations on carbon neutral projects this August.

It's been a busy week for Sir Richard Branson. Not only has he officially launched his long-awaited Virgin Charter service, a service that connects those interested in flying privately with available charters, he has also created several new key partnerships with an eco-friendly slant. He has announced a new partnership with General Motors to use GM's hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered Chevrolet Equinox vehicles as complimentary ground transportation for their "Upper Class" passengers at Los Angeles International Airport.

Virgin Atlantic has also selected Rolls-Royce to power the airline's future fleet of up to 43 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jets and as part of the contract, Rolls-Royce has promised continually to research ways to reduce the engines' fuel consumption. Recently, Virgin Atlantic tested out a partly biofuel-powered 747 and are working on creating a new biofuel that would come from algae created at sewage plants.

I've followed the adventures of Steve Fossett for several years now so I was sad to hear that the millionaire aviator has gone missing in the mountains of Nevada. Fossett has set records for circumnavigating the world by by balloon and airplane. On Monday he took off from a private airstrip in Nevada in a single-engine Bellanca plane, apparently on the lookout for desert locations for a planned attempt at the land-speed record.

Rescue planes have been scouring the area but have been hampered by the fact that he did not file a flight plan. Fossett's friend and partner in global adventures, Richard Branson released a statement saying he was confident that Fossett would be found alive. Fossett has survived a number of crash landings and is also an athlete who has swum the English Channel, raced in the Ironman Triathlon and completed the grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska.

Richard Branson of Virgin Airways isn't just concentrating on the burgeoning space tourism market, he has now announced that he is getting into the private jet business. Branson's latest idea is Virgin Charter, a website that connects sellers of flight time on private planes with eager buyers. The idea is that many private jets have a lot of "empty legs" when they fly home after dropping passengers off. As Forbes reports it's an interesting move for Branson who just began a $3 billion campaign to fight global warming. But the idea behind the company is to reduce the empty flights thereby helping to eliminate wasted fuel. Branson and company won't be buying any jets for this endeavor, it's all about playing, as the website calls it, "jet matchmaker."

Time for something exotic! How about a trip to out of the way Morocco? Sir Richard Branson (of Virgin everything fame) has created a wonderful retreat in the foothills of the Atlas mountains, 45 minutes from Marrakech. Kasbah Tamadot is designed like a Moorish fortress with numerous intimate courtyards with fountains and lush greenery, all with views of the magnificent mountain rage at its doorstep. Only 18 rooms ensure the utmost service and privacy and a three bedroom "master suite" has 3 bedrooms of its own, as well as a private pool. The hotel's restaurant is ran by chef Jean Mundell-Murphy who was trained by noted chef, Raymond Blanc. Rates for this exclusive Kasbah start at 290 Euros a night.

Steve Fossett has touched down at Bournemouth Airport putting a successful end to the Ultimate Flight. Fossett, who broke the world record for the longest flight ever at 26.389.3 miles and a duration of 76 hours and 45 minutes. Fossett was supposed to land at Kent International Airport, but had to make an emergency landing when his generator failed.  It was a rough landing, two tires burst and his windscreen was iced up but he is now on land and in need of a nap.

Another delay has hit Steve Fossett's quest for the Ultimate Flight. The take off which was scheduled for today, has been canceled due to a fuel leak. According to the Global Flyer website the leak is a "fairly simple thing to fix but it will take around 24 hours because it requires fuel sealant material." Weather conditions should hold for the rest of the week and the mission is listed at code Yellow through February 11.

The GlobalFlyer is set to go again on the new mission to set a record for the longest non-stop flight of an airplane. The plane should take off from Kennedy Space Center tomorrow morning. The GlobalFlyer team has been given a code green status meaning weather conditions are expected to be good to go. The flight should launch tomorrow morning at 6:42 am. I wonder if Branson is lending Steve Fossett his Breitling for this flight too.

[via Aero-News Network]